THERE have been rumours that Karl F. (Rick) Inderfurth— who is US Representative for Special Political Affairs to the United Nations with ambassadorial rank— may be appointed assistant secretary for South Asia to replace Robin Raphel at the State Department’s South Asia Bureau. Inderfurther’s office declined to comment, either to confirm or deny rumours .
Inderfurth, 51, attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Thereafter, he was a Fulbright scholar. He got his post-graduate degree from Princeton University. A former colleague of Inderfurth at the National Security Council thought he would be "an excellent choice" as Raphel’s successor and said that his lack of experience on South Asia would not be a drawback.
Inderfurth’s present job includes UN peacekeeping, disarmament and security affairs. He also serves as deputy US representative on the Security Council. During the Clinton-Gore Presidential Transition, he worked on the White House National Security Council team with then UN ambassador Madeleine Albright.
Prior to his presidential appointment, Inderfurth served in several government positions. From 1975-76, he was a professional staff member on the Senate Intelligence Committee. From 1977-79, he served on the staff of the National Security Council as special assistant to President Jimmy Carter’s national security adviser, Dr Zbigniew Brezezinski. From 1979-81, he was deputy staff director of the Senate Foreign Relations’ Committee when he worked on the examination of the SALT II nuclear arms treaty.
After his stint at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Inderfurth became a reporter. He worked for ABC News as a national security correspondent and won several awards. He was Moscow corre-spondent for ABC News from February 1989 to August 1991 and reported on the historic transformation of the erstwhile Soviet Union. During his assignment he travelled to 12 of the then 15 Soviet republics and broadcast more than 400 stories.
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